Derivatives are risky investments and aren’t right for every investor.
Investors often use derivatives to hedge their risks, maximize their returns, or limit losses. While available directly in the form of options or futures, the average investor can also access derivatives through funds that invest in them. However, they can be risky investments and are not appropriate for everyone. Take the time to understand what they are, how to use them, and the risks involved before trading derivatives.
What Is the Derivatives Market?
The derivatives market is one part of the financial market, which also includes the stock market, bond market, and commodities market. The derivatives market is where traders buy and sell different types of derivatives, such as options, futures, forwards, and swaps.
NOTE:- Options, futures, and swaps are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Types of Derivatives
There are two basic types of derivatives:
- Contracts with an obligation to buy or sell an asset at a specified time and price
- Contracts with the right to buy or sell, but not the obligation.
Futures and swaps are obligation contracts. Options are rights contracts, and can have stocks, bonds, and futures contracts as the underlying asset.
Options
Option contracts give you the right to buy or sell the underlying securities—stocks, bonds, commodities, or even futures contracts.
Options are quoted with a price for the contract (premium), an expiration date, and a price for the asset (strike price). Options contracts are primarily of two types, calls or puts, and investors can use different options strategies to make successful trades.
NOTE:-Investors profit from calls when the price of the underlying stock or future rises above the strike price plus the premium for the contract. Investors profit from puts when the price of the underlying asset falls below the strike price plus the premium.
Futures
Futures contracts have standard provisions. They specify the product, quantity, quality, price, location, and date of delivery. The product can be physical, like corn, or financial, like dollars or bonds. Contract prices are quoted on each exchange and are continuously updated.
Futures can also be used to buy and sell the price of a financial index, like the S&P 500. Index futures contracts specify the index used, the quantity, the price, and the date of settlement. Since index prices are not a physical asset, there is only a cash transaction at settlement—there’s no delivery of product. If the price of the index is higher than the contract price at settlement, the buyer makes a profit. If the index is lower than the contract price, the seller makes a profit.
Futures contracts have a value, and options are traded for the right to buy or sell them.
How Does Trading Derivatives Work?
There is always a buyer and a seller in any derivatives transaction. A derivative contract buyer holds a long position while a derivative contract seller holds a short position.
Investors generally use the derivatives market for two purposes: hedging and speculation.
Hedging
Hedging is a risk management strategy to offset short-term price fluctuations or volatility. Portfolio managers and traders may purchase call options to protect their shorted stocks against a rise in prices. Hedge fund managers often make extensive use of derivatives to enhance returns and manage risk. Manufacturers may purchase futures to manage fluctuations in the price of materials or currencies they need to use to make purchases in foreign markets. Farmers may use futures to guarantee a sale price for their crops.
Speculation
Speculators, like day traders, trading firms, and arbitrageurs, look to profit from short-term changes in price, up or down. Speculators use the derivatives market because it’s a source of leverage using margins.
NOTE:- Options and futures contracts enhance returns because they give investors control of large amounts of stocks or commodities without having to buy or sell them until a later date.
The Bottom Line
Derivatives are a way to enhance the returns of your portfolio, protect yourself from falling prices, and diversify with assets like commodities. There are many ways to invest in derivatives, including through ETFs and mutual funds. Derivatives are a widely used tool in active, or day trading, too. Be sure you understand the strategies and risks before investing in or trading derivatives.
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